Handle attachment means for portable ice chest



y 25, 1965 R. B. GOTTSEGEN ETAL 3, ,3

HANDLE ATTACHMENT MEANS FOR PORTABLE ICE CHEST Filed July 8, 1963lNVENTOR-S RONALD B. GOT'TSEGEN BERNARD fF W\LL.OW RONALD WINSTONE.

United States Patent Office 3,185,342 Patented May 25, 1965 3,185,342HANDLE ATTACHMENT MEANS FOR PORTABLE ICE CHEST Ronald B. Gottsegen andBernard F. Willow, Chicago, and Ronald G. Winstone, Des Plaines, Ill.,assignors to Gotham Industries, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation ofNew York Filed July 8, 1963, Ser. No. 293,448 3 Claims. (Cl. 220-91)This invention relates generally to lightweight ice chests of the typedisclosed in US. Patent Nos. 2,983,402 and 3,028,042, and moreparticularly to a portable ice chest having improved carrying handlesand novel means for attachment of the handles to the chest.

As described in the above mentioned patents, the use of portable icechests made of lightweight and inexpensive plastic materials, such asexpanded polystyrenes or foam styrenes, has become increasingly popular.The great popularity of these ice chests is of course attributable, inpart, to their extremely light weight and high insulatingcharacteristics. However, the main reason for their wide acceptance isthe fact that they can be manufactured and sold at only a small fractionof the cost of ice chests made from previously employed materials, suchas metals, woods, and the like. Accordingly, one of the most importantconsiderations in this art is the reduction of the cost of manufacture,if at all possible.

The largest single item of cost in the manufacture of the ice chests inquestion, as well as the most troublesome structural problem, is thehandles and the means of attaching the same to the chest. In thisregard, it is important to remember that despite their desirablequalities, the plastic materials in question are somewhat soft (corklikeor spongy) and therefore relatively inelastic, low in tensile strengthand readily deformable. Thus, the application of undue stress at alocalized point, such as the point of attachment of the handles, islikely to result in permanent damage to the chest.

Other problems of manufacture and cost arise from the fact that thecovers or lids in such chests are normally held in operational positionby the mere forces of friction and/or gravity. To insure the mostefficient insulation, it is thus desirable that locking means beprovided for retaining the cover in air-tight operational engagementwith the main body of the chest. However, in view of the describedphysical property short-comings of the plastic materials and thenecessity for keeping costs at a minimum, the attachment to the chest oflocking means in addition to the handles is impractical botheconomically and structurally.

It is therefore an important object of this invention to provide aportable ice chest having improvements which obviate all of the problemsmentioned above.

Another object is to afford an improved portable ice chest of thecharacter described having a pair of novel handles which cooperate toadditionally function as locking means for the cover of the chest.

A further object is to provide an improved portable ice chest of thecharacter described in which the pair of handles may be swung outwardlyto a position whereby the chest may be conveniently carried by twopeople, one at each end of the chest. A related object is to providesuch an ice chest which is so constructed that when the same is beingcarried by two people, the hands of these people cooperate with the pairof handles to again maintain or lock the cover in operational position.

Still another object is to afford an improved portable ice chest of thecharacter described in which the handles serve to evenly distribute theweight of the chest to facilitate the carrying thereof.

Yet another object is to provide an improved portable ice chest of thecharacter described having novel means for attachment of the handles,said means insuring against any damage to the chest. In this respect,the novel attachment means comprises a pair of members which cooperateto clamp a wall of the chest therebetween and thereby strengthen andrigidity said wall.

Still a further object is to afford an improved portable ice chest ofthe character described in which the cooperating members of theattachment means engage in such a manner as to insure against theirinadvertent removal once they are operationally mounted on the chest.

Still another object is to afford handle attaching means which insuresagainst any metallic members or portions of the handles protruding intothe inside of the chest.

Yet a further object is to provide an improved portable ice chest of thecharacter'described which may be manufactured at a lower cost thanheretofore possible, and yet is most efficient and durable for thepurposes intended.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel featuresof construction, arrangement and a combination of parts hereinafterfully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, andparticularly pointed out in the appendedclaims, it being understood thatvarious changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of thestructure may be made without department from the spirit or sacrificingany of the advantages of the invention.

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of our invention, wehave illustrated in the accompanying drawings, a preferred embodimentthereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection withthe following description, our invention, its mode of construction,assembly and operation, and many of its advantages should be readilyunderstood and appreciated.

Referring to the drawings in which the same characters of reference areemployed to indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout theseveral figures of the drawings:

FIG. 1 is anelevational view of an improved portable ice chest embodyingthe principles of the invention and showing in dotted outline theposition of the two handles for carriage by two people;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the ice chest;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view showing the point ofconnection of one of the handles to the chest;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the plane ofline 44 in FIG. 1, viewed in the direction indicated, and showingdetails of construction of handle attachment means; and

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the cooperating members of the attachmentmeans and an end portion of the handles.

Referring more specifically to the FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, itwill be seen that the reference numeral 10 indicates generally animproved portable ice chest embodying the principles of the invention.The ice chest 10 comprises an open-topped container 12 of generallyrectangular configuration, molded from one of the suitable lightweightplastics described hereinabove, and having a pair of side walls such as14 and a pair of end walls such as 16. A removable cover 18 is providedfor closing the container 12. The cover 18 is likewise molded from thesame plastic material and includes an integrally formed depending flangeor lip such as 20 (see FIG. 4). The lip 20 extends continuously alongthe marginal edge of the cover and cooperates with the container walls14 and 16 to afford a frictional fit for the cover 18. Medial portionsof the cover 18 and the end walls 16 may be recessed as at 22 to affordcon- 3 venient access spaces for the fingers of hands of the user inremoving or applying the cover.

A novel handle, indicated generally by the numeral 25, is pivotallyconnected to the container 12. The handle 25 may comprise a pair ofopposed symmetrical handle members 26, 26 which may be integrally formed(by bending) from lengths of wire rod or the like. Each of the handlemembers 26 is generally channel-shaped in elevation (see FIG. 2), andcomprises a web 28 interconnecting a pair of legs 30, 30. The web 28 maybe provided with a medial, upstanding, generally arcuate shaped handleportion such as 32. Each of the legs 30 terminates in a short, inwardlybent arm 34 (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

It will be noted, as indicated in FIG. 1, that the legs 30 do not lie inthe same vertical plane as the web 28 and its upstanding handle portion32. Instead the legs 30 are inclined downwardly and outwardly asindicated, so that the opposed members 26, 26 form the inverted Yconfiguration of FIG. 1 when they are in the cover possessing the properslight amount of resilience. In this regard, numerous plastic materials,such as the well known Lucite have been found to be ideally suited.Moreover, the plastic disc 40 which communicates with the interior ofthe container 12 will not oxidize or otherwise corrode from frequentcontact with liquids and moisture.

While the cooperating members 36 and 38 have been shown and describedwith the cooperating locking shoulders 52 and 56, it should beappreciated that other forms of locking means may likewise be employed.Thus, for example, the collar 42 and shaft 48 may be formed withcooperating detents or slots and keys to form spring fingers, ifdesired. Actually, it has been found that ma- 1 terials such asLucite"afford such a firm frictional interconneotion that the collar and shaftmay be made perfectly smooth so that if the dimensions are proper,

. a firm immovable locked inerconnection will result. In

locking position. It will, of course, be appreciated that in thisposition, the two handle portions 32 afford a single hand-graspablehandle, and the webs 28 securely lock the cover 18 in airtightcontainer-closing relationship.

If desired or required, the members 26 may be pivoted outwardly to thedotted position shown in FIG. 1, so that the chest may be carried by twopeople, one at each end of the chest. It is important to note that themembers 26 are so shaped and the weight of the ice chest 10 sodistributed, that the fingers and knuckles of the carriers handsautomatically and comfortably bear against the cover 18 to againmaintain the same in the necessary tight container-closing relationship.The novel handle thus insures against any inadvertent removal of thecover at all times while the chest is being carried from place to place.

The handle members 26 are pivotally connected to the container 12 bynovel attachment means indicated generally by the numeral in FIGS. 4 and5 of the drawings. The attachment means 35 comprises a pair ofmushroom-like cooperating members 36 and 38. The member 36 comprises animperforate disc 40 having an integral tubular hub or collar 42projecting inwardly therefrom. At its free end, the collar 42 is formedwith a reduced inner diameter portion to afford an annular shoulder 44.

Cooperating member 38 similarly comprises a disc 46 having an integralannular shaft 48 projecting inwardly therefrom. It is important to note,however, that the disc 46 and the annular shaft 48 are provided with acentral opening and passageway 50 extending therethrough. The shaft 48is provided, at its free end, with an enlarged diameter portion 51affording an annular shoulder 52. It should likewise be noted that theinner surfaces of the discs 40 and 46 are substantially concave with themarginal edges thereof formed with a relatively sharp knifeedge-typeannular skirt or flange such as 54, for reasons which will becomeapparent as the description proceeds.

To operationally mount one of the attachment means 35, the collar 42 ofthe member 36 is first forced through a suitable opening 56 extendingthrough the container side wall 14. The shaft 48 of the member 38 isthen telescopically forced into the cooperating collar 42. The members36 and 38 may now be forced together until their respective flanges 54embed themselves into the soft cork-like plastic material of thecontainer as indicated. It will now be appreciated that the members 36and 38 are securely anchored in the side wall 14, with the discs 40 and46 in substantially flush relationship therewith. Also, the solid disc40 which is embedded as described maintains the airtight integrity ofthe container walls.

For purposes of permitting the shaft 48 to be forced into the collar 42and past the shoulder 44, the members 36 and 38 preferably should bemade from a material any event, the operationally mounted attachmentmeans 35 cannot inadvertently be loosened. Moreover, it simultaneouslyfunctions to rigidify and strengthen the container side walls at thepoint of maximum stress.

To complete the assembly of the ice. chest 10, it is simply necessary toinsert the handle member arms 34 through the respective opening 50,whereupon the annular shaft 48 affords a pivot bearing therefor. Thedescribed insertion of the arms 34 may of course be easily achievedbecause of the resilience inherent in the bent wire rod construction ofthe handle members 26.

From the above description and drawings, it should be apparent that wehave provided a lightweight and portable ice chest having numerousdesirable improvements. Thus, for example, the opposed handle members 26serve the double function of locking the chest cover in operationalposition irrespective of whether the chest is being carried by one ortwo persons. The novel attachment means reinforce and rigidify theconttainer walls and insure against any damage thereto, whilesimultaneously maintaining the airtight insulating integrity of thecontainer. The imperforate inner-disc 40 insures against any end portionof the handle leg arm 34 protruding into the interior of the chest.Moreover, these improvements are effected with an economy of materialsand parts resulting in obvious reductions in the cost of manufacture.

It is believed that our invention, its mode of construction andassembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood fromthe foregoing without further description, and it should also bemanifestthat while a prefer-red embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed for illustrative purposes, the structural details arenevertheless capable of wide variation within the purview of ourinvention as defined in the appended claims.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. In a portable ice chest having a pair of opposed side walls, at leastone handle member with a mounting arm extending from each of the freeends thereof, and a handle member attachment means mounted in apertureson each of said side walls to receive the free ends of said mountingarms, said attachment means comprising:

.an outer disc contacting the outer surface of one of said side walls;

an inner disc spaced opposite to said outer disc and contacting theinner surface of said one wall;

an annular collar integrally connected at one end to said inner disc andhaving a free end extending inwardly within said one side wall, saidcollar being provided with an annular shoulder at said free end to forma reduced diameter opening at the free end thereof, said collarincluding a cavity having a diameter greater than the diameter of saidopening and communicating therewith;

a shaft having one end integrally mounted to said outer disc and anincreased diameter annular shoulder portion at the free end thereofgreater in magnitude than the diameter of the opening in the free end ofsaid collar, the free end of said shaft extending inwardly within saidone wall and entering the cavity of said collar via said reduceddiameter opening, said collar expanding to allow said increased diametershoulder portion to be moved through said reduced diameter opening intosaid cavity of the collar, said collar resiliently locking said shaftwithin said cavity as said increased diameter shoulder portion of theshaft is positioned in said cavity between the reduced diameter openingof the collar and the inner side of said inner disc; and

means for pivotally coupling one of said mounting arms to saidattachment means.

2. In a portable ice chest constructed of molded foam styrene plastic orthe like and including a pair of opposed side walls, at least one handlemember with a mounting arm extending from each of the free ends thereof,and a handle member attachment means mounted in apertures on each ofsaid side walls to receive the free ends of said mounting arms, saidattachment means comprising:

an outer disc;

an inner disc spaced opposite to said outer disc with one of said sidewalls therebetween, each of said discs including relatively sharpinwardly directed flanges;

an annular collar integrally connected at one end to said inner disc andhaving a free end extending inwardly within said one side wall, saidcollar being provided with an annular shoulder at said free end to forma reduced diameter opening at the free end thereof, said collarincluding a cavity having 'a diameter greater than the diameter of saidopening and communicating therewith;

a shaft having one end integrally mounted to said outer disc and anincreased diameter annular shoulder portion at the free end thereofgreater in magnitude than the diameter of the opening in the free end ofsaid collar, the free end of said shaft extending inwardly within saidone wall and entering the cavity of said collar via said reduceddiameter opening, said collar expanding to allow said increased diametershoulder portion to be moved through said reduced diameter opening intosaid cavity of the collar, said collar resiliently locking said shaftwithin said cavity as said increased diameter shoulder portion of theshaft is positioned in said cavity between the reduced diameter openingof the collar and the inner side of said inner disc, said flanges ofsaid discs being embedded within said one wall when said collar and saidshaft are locked together; and

a passageway included in said shaft and communicating with a hole insaid outer disc to rigidly and pivotally receive the free end of one ofsaid mounting arms.

3. A portable ice chest comprising:

an open-topped container of molded foam styrene plastic or the like;

a removable cover associated with said container;

a pair of substantially channel-shaped handle members .pivotally mountedin opposed relationship on said container, each of said handle membersincluding a pair of leg segments and a connecting -web between said legsegments, said web including a medial hand- -grip segment, a shortmounting arm extending from each of the free ends of each of said legsegments, said 'leg segments and mounting arms lying in a single plane,said plane skew to the plane formed by said web and hand-grip segment;and

attachment means mounted in apertures on each of said side walls forconnecting said handle members to said container whereby said handlemembers are rotatable about a horizontal axis into a :face-to-faceposition wherein said webs straddle and abut said cover to lock the samein container-closing relationship, said attachment means including:

an outer disc;

an inner disc spaced opposite to said outer disc with one of said sidewalls therebetween, each of said discs including relatively sharpinwardly directed flanges;

an annular collar integrally connected at one end to said inner disc andhaving a free end extending inwardly within said one side wall, saidcollar being provided with an annular shoulder at said free end to forma reduced diameter opening at the free end thereof, said collarincluding a cavity having a diameter greater than the diameter of saidopening and communicating therewith;

a shaft having one end integrally mounted to said outer disc and anincreased diameter annular shoulder portion at the free end thereofgreater in magnitude than the diameter of the opening in the free end ofsaid collar, the free end of said shaft extending inwardly within saidone wall and entering the cavity of said collar via said reduceddiameter opening, said collar expanding to allow said increased diametershoulder portion to be moved through said reduced diameter opening intosaid cavity of the collar, said collar resiliently locking said shaftwithin said cavity as said increased diameter shoulder portion of theshaft is positioned in said cavity between the reduced diameter openingof the collar and the inner side of said inner disc, said flange of saiddiscs being embedded within said one wall when said collar and saidshaft are locked together; and

a passageway included in said shaft and communicating with a hole insaid outer disc to rigidly and pivotally receive the free end of one ofsaid mounting arms.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 746,733 12/03McDonald 22091 748,581 l/04 Carll 220-91 1,679,657 8/28 Glancy 220-912,983,402 5/61 Got-tsegen 220- .7 3,057,508 10/62 Kirnbrough 220-94THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

3. A PORTABLE ICE CHEST COMPRISING: AN OPEN-TOPPED CONTAINER OF MOLDEDFOAM STYRENE PLASTIC OR THE LIKE; A REMOVABLE COVER ASSOCIATED WITH SAIDCONTAINER; A PAIR OF SUBSTANTIALLY CHANNEL-SHAPED HANDLE MEMBERSPIVOTALLY MOUNTED IN OPPOSED RELATIONSHIP ON SAID CONTAINER, EACH OFSAID HANDLE MEMBERS INCLUDING A PAIR OF LEG SEGMENTS AND A CONNECTINGWEB BETWEEN SAID LEG SEGMENTS, SAID WEB INCLUDING A MEDIAL HANDGRIPSEGMENT, A SHORT MOUNTING ARM EXTENDING FROM EACH OF THE FREE ENDS OFEACH OF SAID LEG SEGMENTS, SAID LEG SEGMENTS AND MOUNTING ARMS LYING INA SINGLE PLANE, SAID PLANE SKEW TO THE PLANE FORMED BY SAID WEB ANDHAND-GRIP SEGMENT; AND ATTACHMENT MEANS MOUNTED IN APERTURES ON EACH OFSAID SIDE WALLS FOR CONNECTING SAID HANDLE MEMBERS TO SAID CONTAINERWHEREBY SAID HANDLE MEMBERS ARE ROTATABLE ABOUT A HORIZONTAL AXIS INTO AFACE-TO-FACE POSITION WHEREIN SAID WEBS STRADDLE ND ABUT SAID COVER TOLOCK THE SAME IN CONTAINER-CLOSING RELATIONSHIP, SAID ATTACHMENT MEANSINCLUDING AN OUTER DISC; AN INNER DISC SPACED OPPOSITE TO SAID OUTERDISC WITH ONE OF SAID SIDE WALL THEREBETWEEN, EACH OF SAID DISCINCLUDING RELATIVELY SHARP INWARDLY DIRECTED FLANGES; AN ANNULAR COLLARINTGRALLY CONNECTED AT ONE END TO SAID INNER DISC AND HAVING A FREE ENDEXTENDING INWARDLY WITHIN SAID ONE SIDE WALL, SAID COLLAR BEING PROVIDEDWITH AN ANNULAR SHOULDER AT SAID FREE END TO FORM A RDUCED DIAMETEROPENING AT THE FREE END THEREOF, SAID COLLAR INCLUDING A CAVITY HAVING ADIAMETER GREATER THAN THE DIAMETER OF SAID OPENING AND COMMUNICATINGTHEREWITH; A SHAFT HAVING ONE END INTEGRALLY MOUNTD TO SAID OUTER DISCAND AN INCREASED DIAMETER ANNULAR SHOULDER PORTION AT THE FREE ENDTHEREOF GREATER IN MAGNITUDE THAN THE DIAMETER OF THE OPENING IN THEFREE END OF SAID COLLAR, THE FREE END OF SAID SHAFT EXTENDING INWARDLYWITHIN SAID ONE WALL AND ENTERING THE CAVITY OF SAID COLLAR VIA SAIDREDUCED DIAMETER OPENING, SAID COLLAR EXPANDING TO ALLOW SAID INCREASEDDIAMETER SHOULDER PORTION TO BE MOVED THROUGH SAID REDUCED DIAMETEROPENING INTO SAID CAVITY OF THE COLLAR, SAID COLLAR RESILIENTLY LOCKINGSAID SHAFT WITHIN SAID CAVITY AS SAID INCREASED DIAMETER SHOULDERPORTION OF THE SHAFT IS POSITIONED IN SAID CAVITY BETWEEN THE REDUCEDDIAMETER OPENING OF THE COLLAR AND THE INNER SIDE OF SAID INNER DISC,SAID FLANGE OF SAID DISCS BEING EMBEDDED WITHIN SAID ONE WALL WHEN SAIDCOLLAR AND SAID SHAFT ARE LOCKED TOGETHER; AND A PASSAGEWAY INCLUDED INSAID SHAFT AND COMMUNICATING WITH A HOLE IN SAID OUTER DISC TO RIGIDLYAND PIVOTALLY RECEIVE THE FREE END OF ONE OF SAID MOUNTING ARMS.